Air-gage.



'f Wit-h these and other objectsl in'vie'w, this .invention consists-of kthe features, details of constructionfand ycombination. ofparts, i f as will bedescribed in connection with the I'Ui'arrE'n sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

JOSEPH A. BU'rrnEss, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, AssreNoE, BY MESNE' AssreN- MENTS, or ONE-FOURTH To s. HERLINGEB, or Los ANGELES, cALIEoENIA` AIE-GAGE. y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application led September 3, 1909. Serial No. 516,152;

" To allwhomfitma/ i/--concem-:1-

Beit known that "I, JOSEPH A.V BU'rrREss,

acitizen vof the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented cer- .,t'ainnew and useful Improvements in Air- Gages, of which the following is a specili- This inventionfrelates to a pressure indil leating device and has particularreference to an airl gage for determining the pressure of air in tires for power vehicles. y

- In'devices'now used havingv similar funcment returnsV to its normal vposition o` rest One ofthe objects lof'this invention there.-

fore is to provide a gage which registers the I' pressure of air within a tire; orotherre-k y ceptacle,4 and lin whichthe indicator re v I so? mainsin its positionof original vregistration when removedv from the source-.the

pressure of which it "has registered.y f ,p Another object 'of this invention'is to pro-yk @vide in combination with an air; (gage, a vn ieehanisni which combines two ydistinct `g` functions,.namely: operates, orv more properly stated, unseats the tire valve to permit i fthe air to escape, and is actuatedor unseat-- ""fled `when the tire valve has reached the limit :of its movement,`

accompanyingdrawing and then be more particularly pointed' out in the claims.

In the'y drawings, Figure 1 is a side eleva- 'tion of my inventionshowing use of `the samein-conncct-ion with the valve of a tire. F ig. .2A is an enlarged sectional elevation, showing the position of the stem and head when forced inwardly by a tirevalve stem.

y A Fig. 3 is a fragmentary det-ail ofthe shouldered scale, and the indicator cooperating therewith. Fig. .Itis a transverse section of saidscale on lines' 4-4 Fig. 3.' Fig. 5 is a plan detail showing the indicator before formed and attached toithe gage, and Fig,

6 is a perspective view of the head with its stern head showing the perforations.

Specifically referring to the drawing 1 designates the fragment of'a tire, provided with the ordinary inlet valve 2, 'the stein. 3' yof which vis shown projectlng from thetop of the casing.v

. The gage forming the gist of the present invention, consists of 'a scale' 4, having a knurled endo, within the recess 6- of which is housed a spring7, exertingtension against the head 8 provided with a' stem 9'. The stem'and head are held in place within the end 5 by a nut v10, forming'a seat fonth'e -head 8, Aand through which'nut 'the sain stemv 9` projects. `A gasket of compressible material shown at 11, is placed inthe hollow fend 12 of the scale.` 'This gasket 11 is prof vided with a central bore'lB into and through which the said stem 9 extends and termiv.nates at a point slightly beyond the gasket 'and the knurled ,end 5 as seen in Figli 1.

I n Fig. 1, the stem 9 is shown in engage- J ment with thefstem 3 of the tire valve. lThe tension-of the [spring 7 in the k'nurled end ratented Apr. 2 1912.

5 being greater than the tension of the means for vholding the tire valve stemvin when depressed, the stem 9 will open or unseat they tire valve stern 3 and permit the air to escape. I Should this occur before the unseating .of the head `on the 'stem 9, which 'normally closed position, it is obvious that unseating results by continued pressure when the tire valvestem 3.*has reached the limit of its movement, the air from the tire will not escape to the atmosphere, because even .though thehead of thestem 9 has `not 'moved from its seat, the air. from the tire,

being confined in its travel therefrom to the scale by the washer., 11, will enter into the passage 14, of thescalethrough the openings provided therefor in thel head 8. In

this manner, an excessive. amount of pres` sure ,to ,seal the airgage to.. the tire ,valve andat the samejtime toy open the tire valve iscliminated, Vhen thetiref valve v,is unseated,thel stem 9- will move the head 8 from its. seat l0 permitting thereby the, air froth the tire to enter the gage through the open-` ings15 provided therefor said head. Inimediately ku'p'on disconnecting the gage from' the source of pressure the head 8 will be forced ontoits seat.10 bythe spring confined in the gage. 'Since a'great many gages exist in which the indicator returns immediately to normal position upon being disconnected fromthe .source 4of pressure, and' therefore a true and accurate registration of pressure is dilicult, I have devised. a' means presently described,whereby the original registration will Abe indicated at, all times after removal Vof the saine from the source the pressure of which it has registered, until manually actuated to cause the indicator to return to normal position. Said `scale is provided with a series lof notehesor annular shoulders 16, and contiguous with orlatt'ached to the end of the same is a nipple 17, havinga bore 18,-whicl1 is continuous with `the passage lief the scalegl. Extending transversely through and secuied in any suitable manner to said nipple 17, is a resilient 4circular member 19, in the nature of a 'lat spring, the free end of'which is made fast to a tiexible, sealed tube or hose 20, in which said flat spring is housed. Said tube or hose 20 is arrangedto tit over and engage the nipple 17 of the scale 4, and into this'tube the volume of air from the tire or other source enters, causing a responsive ex'- pansion of the tube land the incased spring 19 proportionally with the pressure of the volume in the tire.

In Fig. 2| I have shown the end ofthe flat spring 19, embeddedv in a solid body of ru ber, and in order to prevent dissociation, I prefer to serrate the end of the spring thus embeddedj The tube or hose20 of rubber or other flexible material is .incased in a cover of leather or othervmaterial 21, one end of the same being fastened to the nipple 17, land the other end being sealedby a Clasp 22. This clasp 22 carries a pintle 23, uponwhich are hung the butts 24 of an.` indicator 25, which eneircles the scale 4 along which lit is designed totravel. Said indicator 25 is provided with a lip 26 which is arranged to engage the notches or shoulders 16' of the scale 4. The ai'r entering through the scale to the tube 20 causes an expansion of the same against the tension of the flat spring 19, and as the pressure increases, the indica.- tor 25 travels along the scale. -When the gage is removed from the sourceA of supply, the latspi'ing tends to resume its normal position, but the lip 26 engaging the shoulers of ltliescale prevents such action. Therefore when the gage is removed, the indicator registers the exact amount of pressure within the tire or other container, and

yonly a. slight touch at the joint between the indicator and the casing for the tube is neef essary to free the li from engagement with the shoulder and e ect its return to normal position. The mechanism shown in the knurled portion 'ofthe scale 4 has been devised primarily to compensate for the variations frequently existing in the tire valves now commonly used.

The stems of a 'Ui-eat manv tire valves -vaiy in length, consequently are either far below the edge of theA valve casing orextend far beyond the saine. In b oth instances gages of the present construction and par'- ticularly those having a fixed tire valve und 'seating element, would faill to operate.

Where the tirevalve stein is below the edge .of the casing, the fixed stem of a gage can not reach and unseat the'tire valve stem, because the distance of travel of the ixed stem aiid gage beyond the coinpressible gasket is limited and does not equal the distance between the end of the tire valve stem and the top or edge of the valve casing. On the other Ahandwhere a tire valve stem projects beyond the edge of the valve casing, that. is, to such an extent that upon depression and unseating of the valve, the stem thereof will .still be above the edge of the casing, it is obvious that the fixed stem 0fthe gage will serve only torelieve the air fromthe tire and allow thesame to escape to the atmosphere, because the valve stem will Yhave reached the limit of its movement before the gasket of the gage has formed a seal between the valve casing and the gage. Since' variations in the tire valve stemsexist and must always exist as a result either of manufacture or usage, I have devised the means hereinbefore described for adapting a gageto all tire valves. If the tire valve stem is low, the projecting stem of the gage is sufficiently long to reach and unseat the tire valve, or, if not in itself sufficient for this purpose, the additional length given it bythe compression of the gasket, will be ample for all variations of this character. If the tire valve stem be above the casing, the stem projecting from the gage will only initially unseat the tire valve and permit a small quantity of air to escape to the atmosphere, but the operation of the gage will not be stopped when the tire valve stem reaches the limit .of its movement, 'even though at that time no seal has been formed to confine the travel of air from the tire to the gage. The stem and head of the gage,

-n1ovement continuing until the" gasket has reached, and, by compression, sealed the passage from the tire valve casing to the bored scale.

As will be seen, the stem 9 with the head 8 thereof is movable against the tension of a spring 7 which is sufficient to overcome and unseat the valve stem in the tire valve.

lConsequently the said stem` may project slightly beyond the 'rubber gasket 11 or may be iush with the same without affecting and .the fingers 27 thereof fit closelyabout4 the operativeness ofthe same, andthe gasket may comprise but a small piece of material. In similar devices now employed, the stem is made rigid, in which case the rubber gasket must extend far beyond the end of the stem in order to effect a close contact of the gage' with the valvecasin previous to the unseating of -tlie valve in t e tire casing.

The indicator 25 is slightly yielding to al,-

low for the angularity of travel, thetend ency of which is not in a direct vertical line,

the said scale, whereby the indicator is preserved against careless handling and removal from the scale by any excess pressure, it's movement being limited by the nipple 17.

What I claim, is:

1. A 'hollow sca1e,\an indicator` operatively connected -witli said scale, tension means' connected with said scale, a iiuid pres'surereceivingtube inclosing said tension means, said indicator and scale being connected with said tube, and means on saidindicator to prevent the return of said in'V said nipple, and incasing said resilient inember, an an 'indicator pivotally connected withthe free end of said flexible body, and

arranged to operate on said scale.

4. vA hollow scale provided with a head in one end and -a nipple at the nther end, a

flexible fluid-receiving bod fitting said nip-A l ple, said body being close at one end, a resilient member incased in said flexible body',

and secured at one end to said nipple, and an indicator pivotally connected with said body' and operatively connected with said .scale and arranged to travel thereon .to in,-

dicate the pressure.`

5. The combination with a hollow scale- Aprovided with annular shoulders anda nip.-

ple, of'a resilient member connected with said nipple, a flexible fluid-receiving tube 'secured to said nipple and incasing said resilientmember, a casing for said tubeand an indicator pivotall connected with lsaid casing and operative y connected with said scale, said indicator being arranged`-toQengage said shoulders.

6. A hollow scale provided with a head in one-end and a nipple at the other end, a flexible luid receiving bod vlittingsaid nipple, said body being cl at one end, a resilient member incased in said flexible body 'scale having a' central air and secured at one end to the said nipple, anindicator pivotally attached to thel free end of said`.flexible body, and meanson said scale and indicator to hold said indicator 'in' I its position of indication.

7. An air gage comprising a scale havin a nipple andan air duct, a headed stem to spring ixed to said nipple, a tubeconnected with `said nipple and incasing'said spring,

Va cover for said tube, and an indicator piv` otedl with said cover and operatively connected with said scale.

a shouldered 8'.v An air gage comprisin uct, a' headed controlthe air to said scale, a circular( stem in said slcale, a nipple on said scale extendingatf ight angles thereto, a circular 'spring ixed to -said nipple, a tube fitting over lsaid nipple and .incasing said spring, a cover for said tube, an indicator hingedly connected'with said cover, and loosely engaging said scale, and means on said indi'- cator to engage the shoulders onsaid scale. 9. An air gage comprising a scale having a duct, and a recessed end, awasher in said recessed end having a bore, aseat in said recessed end, a headed stem lextending through the bore in said seatand washer I and projecting slightly beyond. said washer, yand a spring to normally hold the head A'of said stem against said seat, inv combination with a rubber tube connected with said `scale,'-a springhoused in said tube and rigidly connected with said scale, an indicator connected with kvsaid4 tubey and scale andmeans on said scale and indicator respec-v tively andicoperating to hold-said indicator in position of indication. y.

10. A shouldered scale having al bore and a nipple, 'a covered rubber tube fitting said nipple, a spring in ysaid tube and fastened to one end thereof, the other end thereof being fastened to said nipple, an indicator piv- 3 otally connected with said tube and" loosely fengaging saidscale, means on said scale and `indicator respectively and coperating' to hold said indicator in position of indication, a washer in'theend of said scale, astem having an apertured head, a seat for said head, and a spring to normlly hold said vhead against-said seat.

' 11. The. combination witha shouldered `scale having an air duct, of aresilient inember connected with said scale,a tluid receiving tube also connected with said scale, and incasing said member, and means hingedly connected with said tube and loosely engaging said .scale to indicate .the pressure, said means bein arranged to engage` the shoulders on sai scale.

12. An air gage comprising a bored scale having an indicator operatively connected therewith, and an expansible means for o verating said indicator, means on said in icator and scale respectively and .coperat- -iso ing to hold lsaid indicator in position of indication, and a spring pressed member 1n one end of said scale for unseating a tire valve.

13. An air gage comprising a bored scale having an indicator operatively connected therewith, an expansion means connect-ing' the indicator with said scale, means on said indicator and scale respectively and coperating to hold said indicator in position of indication, a projection in one end of said scale, and means engaging said projection to hold same stationary for unseating a tire valve, said means serving to allow said projection to yield when the tire valve has reached the limit of its movement.

14. An air gage comprising a bored scale having a fluid controlled expansible member connected therewith, an indicator on said eXpansible member and operatively connected with said scale, means on said scale and indicator to hold said indicator in position of indication, astem in said scale having a perforated head, and means to normally hold said stem projected to unseat a tire valve, said means being arranged to yield When such tire valve has reached the limit of its movement.

15. An air gage comprising a bored scale having an indicator operatively connected therewith, a fluid pressure operated tube connecting said indicator with said scale means on said scale and indicator to hold said indicator in posit-ion of indication, a compressible seat in one end of said scale arranged to fit against the casing of a" tire valve, a stem in said scale provided with a perforated head, and tension means to normally hold said stem projected to overcome and unseat a tire valve, said tension means being arranged to yield When such tire valve has reached the limitl of its movement.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOSEPH A. BUTTRESS. Witnesses:

J. VINCENT HARMON, ANTON GLOETZNER, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

